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Exxon admits to operating above production rates in EIAs
…says impact assessed using separate figure
By: Davina Bagot
Kaieteur News- ExxonMobil Guyana Limited (EMGL) has admitted to producing oil above the design rates of the various Floating Production, Storage, and Offloading vessels (FPSOs).
(from left) Exxon’s Projects Environmental and Regulatory Manager, Mariya Skocik and EMGL Projects Manager, Rebecca Cvikota responding to questions during a disclosure meeting on the Hammerhead project.
The company, during a disclosure meeting on Thursday at the Diamond Primary School, East Bank Demerara, for the Hammerhead development- its seventh planned project-, was asked by this newspaper to explain why its projects are designed to produce at a specific rate, yet daily production exceeds this figure.
So far, all three of the projects in operation are producing oil above the design rates, outlined in the respective Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs).
Exxon’s consultant, Environmental Resources Management (ERM), in response, explained that while the company provides the planned production rates, ERM factors in an increase to ensure it accounts for future production rates, which may be higher than the initial estimate.
Meanwhile, Exxon’s Projects Environmental and Regulatory Manager, Mariya Skocik, revealed that conservative production rates are used in the EIAs rather than the actual rate the company would operate at.
She said, “When the projects are designed, we use the best design basis that we have at that time. For the purpose of the EIA, we use a very conservative production rate to be sure that we can estimate the worst possible environmental impact. So, the production rates that we supply to the consultants, such as ERM, they’re generally more conservative than what we intend to operate at.”
Skocik was keen to note that debottlenecking is a standard practice across the oil and gas industry. Additionally, she assured that if Exxon intends to produce above the estimate used to determine impacts from the project, then it would reassess the associated impact.
She could not say whether the company would re-engage the public when it reassesses the impact. According to her, “That might be an EPA process question and likely depends on the delta- how much of an increase. So far, we have not had to go through the entire process all over again, just because we have been able to account for that in the EIA.”
Although officers of the EPA were present at the meeting, a response by the regulator was not provided.
Meanwhile, EMGL Projects Manager, Rebecca Cvikota, assured that the debottlenecking exercise is only conducted after an analysis is undertaken to determine the potential impact of those activities.
She said, “We actually go through what we call a hazard analysis and that would look at all types of potential impacts of doing those activities, including safety, environmental and we would bring in our process safety experts to lead us through that process as well to ensure that before we even consider making any changes that those are all evaluated properly.”
Increase production
The increase of oil production by the company, beyond the EIA design rates, have sparked concern among Guyanese, who often argue that the country is put at greater risk of an oil spill by the operator pushing the equipment beyond its capacity.
ExxonMobil and the government of Guyana have, however, assured that the optimization of production is conducted after rigorous assessments to ensure the increase in production is done safely.
This newspaper confirmed that the Liza One EIA states that the FPSO was designed to produce safely at sustained peaks of 120,000 barrels per day (bpd). The document also states that potential impacts were based on a potential peak production of 144,000 bpd. Exxon is producing approximately 145,000 bpd currently at the project.
According to the Liza Two EIA, that project was designed to produce 220,000 bpd, but production today has reached approximately 250,000 bpd. The study also states that 300,000 bpd was used to assess potential impacts from the Project.
Additionally, the Payara EIA notes that the project was designed to operate at a capacity of 220,000 bpd. That project has been producing above 250,000 bpd, according to data on the Ministry of Natural Resources’ website. The EIA, however, states that 264,000 bpd was used to assess potential impacts from the Project.
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